880 CARYOPHYLLACEAE (PINK FAMILY) 



seeded. — Low usually tufted herbs, with sessile exstipulate leaves and smal\ 

 white flowers. (Name from arena, sand, in which many ot the species grow. ) 



— The following sections are by many botanists taken for genera. 



§ 1. MOEHRfXGIA (L..) Fries. Ovary at first ^-celled; seeds few, smooth, 

 with a thickish appendage at the hilum ; perennials with broadish leaves. 



1. A. lateriflbra L. Sparingly branched, minutely pubescent ; leaves oval 

 or oblong, obtuse (1-2 cm. long) ; peduncles 2 (rarely o-4)-flowered, soon be- 

 coming lateral ; sepals oblong, obtuse. (Moehringia Fenzl.) — Gravelly shores, 

 thickets, etc., Nfd. to Pa., Mo., and north w. May, June. (Eu.) 



2. A. macrophylla Hook. Similar; leaves lance-oblong, acute; sepals 

 lanceolate, acuminate. (^Moehringia Torr.)— N. Guilford and Durham, Ct. 

 {a. H. Bartlett, Harger), Vt., Lab., L. Superior, and north westw. 



§ 2. AMMODENIA (Patrin) B. & H. Styles, cells of the ovary and valves of 

 the fleshy pod 8, rarely 4 or 5 ; seeds few, smooth, short-beaked at the naked 

 hilum; disk under the ovary more prominent than usual, glandular, 10- 

 lobed ; flowers almost sessile in the axils., sometimes dioecious or polyga- 

 mous; perennial. 



3. A. peploides L. Stems (simple or forking from long rootstocks) and 

 ovate partly clasping leaves (1.5-2 cm. long) very fleshy, (Ammodenia Rupr.) 



— Sea-shore, N. J. to Me. and north w. June. (Eu.) 



§ 3. ARENARIA proper. Pod splitting wholly or part loay down into 3 or at 

 length 6 valves; seeds many, naked at the hilum. 



4. A. SERPYLLiFe)LiA L. (Thyme-le AVED S.) RougMsh-pubescent or pu- 

 berulent, 5-15 cm. high ; leaves ovate, small, acute ; cymes leafy ; sepals lanceo- 

 late, pointed, 3-5-nerved, about equaling the petals ; capsule flask-shaped, of 

 firm texture. — Sandy or rocky soil, chiefly about towns. Juno-Aug. (Nat. 

 from Eu.) 



5. A. LEPTocLADOs Guss. Similar to the preceding; leaves lanceolate; 

 cymes nearly naked ; capsule subcylindric, papery. (A. serpyllifolia, var. ten- 

 uior Koch.) — Locally, Me. to Mich. (Farwell), and westw. (Adv. from Eu.) 



§ 4. ALStNE (Gaertn.) B. & H. Pod splitting to the base into 3 entire valves; 

 seeds many, usually rough, naked at the hilum; flowers terminal or cy- 



Sepals lanceolate, acuminate. 

 Lateral nerves oi the leaves none or much smaller than the midnerve. 



Petals retuse 6. A.patula. 



Petals entire. 

 Capsule long'er and petals shorter than the sepals . . . ,7.-4. Utorea. 

 Capsule shorter and petals much longer than the sepals . . .8.-4. siricta. 



Leaves with 3 nearly equal nerves 9. .4. verna, v. pi-opmqua. 



Sepals obtuse or obtusish, inconspicuously veined, not nerved. 



Leaves rijrid, pungent ; petals entire 10. A. caroUniana. 



Leaves soft, herbaceous ; petals usually retuse 11.-4. groenlandica. 



6. A. patula Michx. Diffusely branched from a slender root; stems 5- 

 30 cm. long ; branches of the cyme divergent ; peduncles long ; sepals 3-5-nerved 

 — Ky. to n. Ill,, Minn., and southw. to Tex. and Fla. 



7. A. litbrea Fernald. Perennial, densely tufted; stems several to many, 

 6-14 cm. high, leafy chiefly toward the base ; leaves firm, subulate, commonly 

 proliferous in the axils ; sepals 3-nerved ; capsule 5 mm. long, well exserted at 

 maturity. — Gravelly beaches and calcareous bluffs, e. Que. ; and north shore of 

 L. Superior (Loring, G. S. Miller). 



8. A. striata Michx. Erect or diffusely spreading from a small root, smooth 

 leaves slender, between awl-shaped and bristle-form, with many others clustered 

 In the axils ; cyme diffuse, naked, many-flowered ; sepals '^-ribbed, ovate. {A 

 Michanxii Hook, f.) — Kocks and dry wooded banks, Mt. Washington, N. H 

 (Manning) ; Vt. to S. C, Minn., westw. and southwestw. July. 



